This invention relates generally to rural mailboxes and more particularly to a signal device which indicates when mail has been delivered.
In rural areas mail is normally delivered by a motor vehicle and is placed in a standard mailbox mounted at the curbside for each residence. Currently, standard mailboxes which are approved by the postal service have a red flag on one side, which at the option of the homeowner may be placed in the upright position to advise the postal deliverer there is mail to pick up. Unfortunately, no signal device is provided on such mailboxes to advise the homeowner when mail has been delivered to a mailbox or that the postman has been there to pick up mail placed in the box. The lack of such a signal device results in the homeowner having to leave the house on one or more occasions, often in inclement weather, to check the mailbox. This latter requirement that numerous visits be made to the mailbox is especially difficult for older people.
Some prior devices have attempted to resolve the lack of a mailbox delivery indicating device. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,424 by Raulston shows a signal flag mounted on the side of a mailbox and held horizontally by an arm on the cover door which drops a signal flag when the door is open. However, Raulston's invention, as do several others, requires a horizontal piece to be added to the front cover. Further, the flag is two-dimensional which cannot be seen well from the front or back but just from the sides. U.S. Pat. No. 2,988,268 by Mioduski shows a flag indicator which falls backward and downward when the front cover is opened. This device, too, requires that a horizontal bar be added to the front cover to hold the flag. Also, Mioduski's flag indicator would interfere with the standard red flag currently on mailboxes. Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,897 by Gagnon, shows a flag signal device which drops when the door is opened. However, this device requires an extra arm and an extension on the front cover of the mailbox. U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,780 by Mapes shows a flag which drops when the box is open by means of a trip wire. U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,317 by Clement shows a device affixed to the door of the box which goes into the upright vertical position when the front cover of the mailbox is opened. And, finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,811 by Harmon shows a device consisting of a little flag and hook which pivots downward.
All the above patented devices require modification of the mailbox and, thus, extra effort to install. Some of the devices also interfere with the red flag currently on mailboxes and with the opening and closing of the door. Still others require extra holes to be made into the mailbox which can cause leaking. On the contrary, the instant device is simple in design and application. The instant device comes completely assembled and attaches to the mailbox by merely inserting one (1) screw in the predrilled hole already in the mailbox. Since it has no attachments to the front door of the mailbox other than a small clip, it does not interfere whatsoever with the opening and closing of the mailbox. Moreover, since it contains a three-dimensional flag portion, it enables the device to be seen from all directions, from the front and back as well as the sides.